Bible Study: Matthew 3:1-12

Why did John the Baptist warn the people? Ezekiel 18:21-24; Amos 5:18-20

Every Gospel mentions that John was in the wilderness, why is this significant? Isaiah 40:3; Hebrews 11:32-38; Revelation 12:5-6

Why couldn’t the Pharisees and Sadducees accommodate John? Why would many churches today have the same problem?

Who did John resemble from the Old Testament? 2 Kings 1:8 Why? Malachi 4:5-6; Matthew 11:11-15, 17:11-13

John was called to live a certain lifestyle, what does that say to us about following God? Matthew 8:20, 10:9-19; Luke 3:11, 12:33, 14:33

Why was John preaching a message of repentance? 1 Kings 8:46-51

How is John’s message of repentance even more radical? Why did he direct it to the people at the Pharisees and Sadducees expense?

Why does John ask his listeners to bear good fruit? Matthew 7:16-17; 12:33; 13:22-23; 21:33-43

Why did John bring up stones in verse 9? (other examples of the use of stones Exodus 24:4, 28:9-12; Josh 4:20-21)

John said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near,” what did he mean? Matthew 4:17,10:7; Amos 5:8; 2 Peter 3:3-9

In verse 12, John uses the example of the burnt chaff (seed coverings). Where have we seen that before? Psalm 1:4; Isaiah 17:13; Hosea 13:2-3; Matthew 9:38, 13:37-39, 21:33-34

Only God can pour out the gift of the Spirit. Where else in scripture do we find evidence of this? Isaiah 44:3; 59:21; Ezekiel 36:27; 37:14; 39:29; Joel 2:28-29; Zechariah 12:10, what does this mean for all believers?

What does it mean to be a servant of God? What do John’s words in verse 11 that he was unfit even to untie Christ’s sandals do to help you answer this question?

After hearing all this, how are we to prepare for the Savior’s return (Hope you were listening to the sermon)?

John’s hearers were not all good descendants of their ancestors anyway. “Viper” was certainly an insult, and brood of vipers (offspring of vipers) carries the insult further. In the ancient Mediterranean many people thought of vipers as mother killers. In the fifth century B.C. Herodotus declared that newborn Arabian vipers chewed their way out of their mothers’ wombs, killing their mothers in the process. Herodotus believed that they did so to avenge their fathers, who were slain by the mothers during procreation (Herod. Hist. 3.109). Later writers applied his words to serpents everywhere (Aelian On Animals 1.24; Pliny N.H. 10.170; Plut. Divine Vengeance 32, Mor. 567F). Calling John’s hearers vipers would have been an insult, but calling them a brood of vipers accused them of killing their own mothers, indicating the utmost moral depravity. That Matthew applies this phrase to religious leaders may be unfortunately significant.